OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development
Open-access peer-reviewed journal
Methodology to assess the perception of informal waste pickers on being integrated into the waste management system of the City of Ekurhuleni Municipality, Gauteng Province
Nondumiso Portia Mngomezulu1 , Mpinane Flory Senekane 1
1,2 Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg, South Africa.
Volume 16, Issue 12, Pg. 11-20, 2023.
Abstract: In South Africa, informal waste picking forms a vital part of municipalities’ waste management system and assist in diverting plastics, paper, and other recyclable materials away from landfills which are already facing a burden of waste going into them. Informal waste pickers work in isolation to the City of Ekurhuleni’s waste system and work under harsh conditions and without proper tools. Literature has attempted various ways of formalising and integrating informal waste pickers, but little information is available on how such integration should take place, from the perspective of the actual waste pickers. Therefore, this study will provide such information and knowledge on how best integration can be implemented and then close the gap of lack of literature, which will then assist in informing decision makers and policy makers on how best to integrate informal waste pickers in a South African context, and also to highlight the challenges of informal waste pickers in the recycling sector and how these can be addressed.This study aims to do an assessment of the perception of informal waste pickers on being integrated into the waste management system at City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan municipality. To achieve this aim, the objectives include to explore various ways of integration and the dentification of challenges that informal waste pickers encounter as they perform their daily activities; to investigate ways by which informal waste pickers may be supported to overcome challenges to improve their recycling efficiencies and to improve their health. This study will be conducted in Germiston and Boksburg in the City of Ekurhuleni. Population of informal waste pickers in Germiston and Boksburg is estimated to be 550, sample size will be (n= 283). Participants in this study will include five (n=5) landfill operators in Rooikraal landfill site in Boksburg and five (n=5) landfill operators in Simmer and Jack landfill located in Germiston, two (n=2) officials from the Department of Environmental Resource and Waste Management, Ekurhuleni municipality, two (n=2) officials from the Department of Environmental Affairs, two (n=2) officials from GDARD. This study will collect primary data by employing quantitative (Semi-structured questionnaires) and qualitative (Interviews) methods of data collection. Literature and official documents compiled for City of Ekurhuleni will be used as secondary source of data collection. STATKON will use Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 27 to analyse collected data. Permission to conduct the study was obtained from Ethics Research committee at the University of Johannesburg, and the City of Ekurhuleni municipality in Gauteng. The outcomes of this study will determine whether or not waste pickers want to be integrated into waste management system. Recommendations to be made will contribute to individual waste pickers ‘safety, zero illegal dumping.
Keywords: landfill sites, illegal dumping, recycling, solid waste management, Waste pickers,
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Child Rearing Practices and Perceptions of Parents on Alcohol Abuse by Black Adolescents in Northern KwaZulu Natal South Africa
Wellington Mthokozisi Hlengwa 1*, Priscilla Buyisile Mbele 2*
1*School of Applied Human Science, College of Humanities, University of Kwazulu-Natal Private Bag X 54001 Durban 4000, South Africa.
2*Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zululand, Private Bag X1001, KwaDlangezwa, 3886, South Africa.
Volume 16, Issue 12, Pg. 21-32, 2023.
Abstract: In South Africa like in most countries, the gap observed in the literature is that of parental role and/or influence in their children’s self-destructive behaviours (Chapman & Werner- Wilson, 2008; Lamborn, Mounts, Steinberg & Dornbusch, 1991; Sprecher, Harris & Meyers, 2008). Parents have been overlooked in the efforts to reduce the incidence of substance abuse among young people. This study aimed to bridge this gap by looking into the child-rearing practices and perceptions of parents on alcohol abuse by Black adolescents in Empangeni.
The study follows a cross-sectional design that adopted a qualitative approach and principles in data collection method (Lester, 1999). The approach investigates lived experiences of people with regard to the concept, construct or a phenomenon in question (Lester, 1999). The means of gathering this information and perceptions was through inductive interviews, discussions and participant observation, and representing it from the perspective of the research respondent(s).
The sample consisted of 54 parents that were divided into five groups. Three groups consisted of ten people each with two groups having 12 people in it. Based on several themes extrapolated from the study, findings indicate a sense of helplessness on the part of the parents and/caregivers with regard the appropriate parenting skills and strategies. The reason was mostly the generational gap on the part of grandparents that were looking after their grandchildren. Parents expressed a need for parent-oriented intervention programmes and support from the government or community-based organization in order to gain skills of dealing with increasing alcohol abuse by their teenage children.
Keywords: Parenting style, child-rearing style, adolescents, alcohol abuse, children’s rights
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Sustainable Teaching Professional Ethics in the post-digital Era
Omotayo Adewale Awodiji 1, Ancia Katjiteo 2
1 Department of Education Leadership and Management, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
2 Department of Applied Educational Sciences, University of Namibia, Namibia.
Volume 16, Issue 12, Pg. 33-40, 2023.
Abstract: Sustainable teaching professional ethics in the post-digital era encompasses the principles and practices that educators must uphold to ensure responsible and ethical utilisation of technology while promoting sustainability and environmental consciousness. As technology plays a significant role in education, teachers must integrate sustainable teaching practices into their methods and incorporate digital tools ethically and responsibly. This paper explores policy and practices’ implications for fostering sustainable teaching professional ethics in the post-digital era. It emphasises the importance of environmental awareness, digital citizenship, equity and access, privacy and data protection, ethical use of technology, critical thinking, and balancing digital and analogue learning. The paper also highlights the need for policy development, teaching profession and professional development, curriculum integration, access to technology, ethical use of data and privacy protection, collaboration, and ongoing evaluation and feedback. By addressing these aspects, educational systems can create an environment that fosters sustainable teaching professional ethics, preparing students to become responsible global citizens who prioritise sustainability and the ethical use of technology. Further research is warranted to investigate the challenges and effective strategies for integrating sustainability and digital ethics into teaching practices in the post-digital era.
Keywords: digital era, ICT, professional ethics, Sustainable, teaching
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Spiritual healing experiences of rape survivors
Girly Elizabeth Thwala 1, Priscilla Buyisile Mbele 2, Stephen David Edwards 3
1 Department of Health, Mpumalanga Province, Solomon Mahlangu Drive, KwaMhlanga. South Africa.
2 Department of Psychology, University of Zululand, Private Bag X1001, KwaDlangezwa, 3886, South Africa
3 Antigua, 32 Chartwell Drive, Umhlanga Rocks, 4319, South Africa.
Volume 16, Issue 12, Pg. 41-50, 2023
Abstract: Rape incidence is reportedly high in South Africa, yet the number of professionally trained therapists is limited. Some rape survivors end up seeking help from churches and then claim to have received spiritual healing. This study aimed to find out how this healing occurred. The results indicate that survivors whose pre-morbid functioning had been stable, had symptom relief through attending churches and counselled by church leaders. The support given approximated psychotherapy in that they experienced unconditional positive regard, empathy, and respect. Survivors expressed that relief came after saying prayers, reading Biblical scriptures, and receiving spiritual guidance; which they accepted as spiritual healing. After receiving support from the church they experienced peace and forgiveness for the perpetrators.
Keywords: Spirituality, Spiritual Healing, Rape Survivors, Community Psychology, South Africa
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Are We Citizens or Subjects? Service Delivery at the Intersection of Modern and Traditional Leadership in Emaqeleni
Neo Refiloe Mofokeng 1, Innocent Simphiwe Nojiyeza 2, Sibusiso Innocent Nxumalo 3
1,2,3 Department of Anthropology and Development Studies, University of Zululand,
KwaDlangezwa 3886, South Africa.
Volume 16, Issue 12, pg. 51-60, 2023.
Abstract: Much of Africa’s encounter with Euro-American modernity has dictated that Africans should abandon their ways of life and adopt those of modernity. This has permeated the entire life of Africans, including how they should govern themselves in the post-colonial era. In rural areas, such as in parts of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province in South Africa, local governance has been complex, as both traditional (represented by izinduna – headmen and amakhosi – chiefs) and modern governance systems (ward councilors) continue to co-exist. Such a nexus has had implications for the delivery of services in Emaqeleni, a rural area in one of KZN’s most historically important towns, Eshowe. Through multiple key informant interviews, this qualitative study explores the insights of traditional and modern leaders to understand the relationships, roles, and experiences they have had working together. These first-hand accounts are important for our understanding of the goings-on in the internal affairs of local governance. Furthermore, community members were also interviewed to understand their experiences of how this nexus has affected their lives. The study took interest both in how residents understand the presence of traditional and modern leadership, along with how this affected the residents’ lives. Guided by the postdevelopment theory, the study found that there is confusion over the responsibilities and roles of modern leaders and traditional leaders. This confusion leads to citizens (for modern leaders – who are also subject to traditional leaders) being confused about who is responsible for delivering the services needed by the communities. Confusion exists amongst citizens and leaders as well. This mystification of roles and responsibilities seems to imply that no one and everyone is in power, thus residents are sometimes dissatisfied with the leadership nexus, and with no specific person/institution to hold accountable when needing assistance with some services, there is no one to hold accountable and no one to send requests for assistance to. This empirical study affords us insights and reflections that were unavailable at the democratizing moment and further helps us reflect on the realities of what South Africa’s rural areas may need to develop meaningfully, with key considerations from local government officials, traditional leaders, and community members who live through these dynamics, a feature often missing from studies on this subject. Thus, the case of Emaqeleni helps us reflect on how the residents of rural areas may desire to be governed, drawing from empirical findings, and studying how power relations shape rural areas.
Keywords: governance; modern leadership; post development theory; rural areas; traditional leadership
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A socio-ecological and post growth rural households’ food security and sovereignty status in rural areas of Mpumalanga, South Africa
Mthabiseng Pertunia Ngwamba 1, Innocent Simphiwe Nojiyeza 2
1,2 Department of Anthropology and Development Studies, University of Zululand, Private Bag X1001, KwaDlangezwa, 3886, South Africa.
Volume 16, Issue 12, Pg. 61-72, 2023.
Abstract: The aim of the study is to assess rural household food security and sovereignty status at Nkomazi Local Municipality. The study is informed by the post-growth theory, with careful consideration of the social-ecological embedment and politically engaged market activity informed by peasant modes of production and distribution. The significance of both theory and action, translating theory into action and subjecting activity to critical-theoretical scrutiny must be highlighted in the search for post-growth futures. Food Sovereignty Movements are a great illustration of this type of activity. The data was collected from 383 households, 4 key informants from Mpumalanga Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development and 3 key informant from Nkomazi Local Municipality, using a mixed-method research approach, namely convergent parallel approach. Two research designs were employed, namely phenomenology and a non-experimental design (correlational). The research’s paradigm is pragmatic, using both inductive and deductive reasoning to properly analyse the concepts of food security and sovereignty from a realist and interpretive standpoint. The study triangulated both qualitative and quantitative data by drawing on these different data sources. Data was analysed through thematic and statistical analysis. The closed-ended data (quantitative data) was coded, moved to code sheets, transferred to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, and then transferred to a computer program called Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24.0. Therefore, the study considered a 24-hour recall, and the findings shows that 79% of the households rely on local foods to ensure variety in their diet each day. This agrees with the findings from key informants who indicated that households follow a more condensed and focused value chain. Consequently, participants hinted that some of the household’s produce is typically sold in informal markets in rural locations and urban areas. Therefore, a T-test was run to check the association between food production, security, and sovereignty. The significance difference was found to be less than p<0.005, the study did not accept the null hypothesis, that reflected that there was no statistical deference between the variables. This shows that there is a significant difference between food security and sovereignty when considering food frequency (the number of meals per day) and occurrence (the number of accidences) at household level. In order to examine food security at household level the study examined the correlation between indigenous food production, food security and sovereignty. The results showed a significance level of p<.001 which indicates that there is no significant difference for both variables, with a degree of freedom at df =2. Hence the null hypothesis was rejected. Therefore, the study recommended the incorporation of indigenous and pioneering knowledge systems on food production practices to ensure further development.
Keywords: Civilized legalization; food pragmatism; food sovereignty movement; indigenous foods and re-politicizing local food
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Rurality and student transition in higher education: the views of University of Zululand rural students
Mthandeni Patric Mbatha 1, Hebert Sihle Ntuli 2
1,2 Department of History/Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zululand,
KwaDlangezwa Campus, South Africa.
Volume 16, Issue 12, Pg. 73-82, 2023
Abstract: Rural students in various universities in South Africa are usually confronted with series of challenges when transmitting from high schools into universities. Studies conducted on transition from rural areas to tertiary institutions have shown that environments most times are different from what exist in their high school environment. The focus of this study is to explore the academic impediments or hurdles confronting the undergraduate students at the University of Zululand (UNIZULU). As a rural institution, UNIZULU enrols many students from rural background. Using phenomenological qualitative research, the article delves into challenges and experiences that students faced while transitioning at UNIZULU. Twenty students were engaged in focus groups in-depth interviews. Findings reveal that students from rural areas face a variety of obstacles in their educational pursuit. Findings further indicated that rural students must survive unbearable circumstances such as lack of parental guidance and inability to cope with university life in the pursuit for higher education. This article therefore recommends that all stakeholders should provide essential and adequate support services for the students to integrate appropriately into the system.
Keywords: Higher education; rural students, rurality, transition
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Digital Development of Rural Communities in Sub-Saharan Africa
Gedala Mulliah Naidoo
Department of Communication Science, Faculty of Humanities Social Science,
University of Zululand, South Africa.
Volume 16, Issue 12, Pg. 83-96, 2023
Abstract: The development of digital technology, particularly the usage of social media, has improved connectivity throughout the world. The COVID-19 virus spread around the world for the past two years, and countries went on lockdown. This pandemic has boosted the adoption of digital technology globally, notably in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The COVID-19 epidemic brought the region’s many issues to light as well as a few new ones. Many young people are leaving rural communities to seek better opportunities in the surrounding, more developed urban areas, and this is one of the many issues that rural communities in Africa deal with. Many of these rural villages decline and ultimately perish. Rural communities can change with the adoption of digital technology, which also offers chances for economic expansion. Several obstacles contribute to the slow uptake of digital connections in rural regions. Poor to no Internet connectivity and interrupted electricity supply are major problems in Africa. In South Africa, electricity is declared a national disaster. The research looks at how rural communities may adapt to using digital technology for development to sustain agricultural output, produce alternative sources of energy thereby reducing such challenges and cut down on power outages. The application of such developments will increase internet access. Moreover, the adopting digital technology and artificial intelligence can offer several solutions and create new jobs. The research was conceptualised using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory and Uses and Gratification Theory. This study used a desktop research approach reviewing of the literature. The potential from digital transformation provides to enhance the employing of renewable energy this in turn supports rural people simultaneously providing relief to South Africa’s energy needs is one of the study’s primary conclusions.
Keywords: digital communication, digital skills, new technology, transformation, unemployment
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Rural community and vulnerability to post-truth exploitation
Adelaine Candice Austin
Philosophy & Applied Ethics, Humanities & Social Sciences, University of Zululand, South Africa.
Volume 16, Issue 12, Pg. 97-110, 2023.
Abstract: The impetus at which consciousness has been coaxed into a ‘post-truth’ way of being over the last decade of the information age is a worthy content on a research agenda. In relation, the slow scholarship movement has gained momentum as a response to contemporary post-truth discourses. The post-truth way may be typified by a presentation of information which manifests in the form of sensationalist, fast-paced, knee-jerk reaction to issues. It can be characterized by a failure to assess veracity through a rigorous evaluation of evidence. Unfortunately, time does not permit to question beyond to ensure that uttered words are consistent with integrity or moral and ethical dimensions of communication that allows truth to prevail. The slow scholarship movement implores a more thoughtful, conscientious, and ethical conduct that values quality over sensationalism. The observable direction of the post truth era bears heavily on the sculpting of public life and opinion. It has implications for governance and social policy. It has implications for peace and peace of mind, in particular. It has implications for truth and knowledge. It has existential implications. It is with slow scholarship reckoning that this paper treats a challenge of post-truth consequence. Through a review of literature and a synthesis of discourse related to post-truth associated phenomena this paper presents the framework for the study that considers vulnerability of rural communities as an exploited and oppressed segment of the post truth era. This paper recognizes that the post-truth paradigm presents a new set of complexities that need to be examined in terms of its effect on society. One of the complexities is a propensity toward an environment in which society is susceptible to manipulation and thereby the potential for exploitation is heightened.
Keywords: exploitation; information disorder; post-truth; rurality; vulnerability.
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Adopting a community-based approach to mitigate shortcomings when rendering substance use treatment services in rural communities: A qualitative study in King Cetshwayo District, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa
Nkanyiso Nkazimulo Mkhize 1, John Victor Rautenbach 2, Lungile Prudence Zondi 3
1,2 Department of Social Work, University of Zululand, KwaDlangezwa campus, Inkanyiso Building – Office10
3 Department of Anthropology and Development Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal, PMB campus
Volume 16, Issue 12, Pg. 111-116, 2023.
Abstract: Substance use, misuse, and abuse is a major global challenge. This problem has contributed immensely to high morbidity and mortality. In South Africa, the scourge of substance abuse has become so rampant that large numbers of dedicated users have emerged in a short period of time. In light of the high wave of substance abuse, treatment is currently the most widely recognised approach to curb the phenomenon. However, service users do not benefit from treatment due to the lack of resources and poor infrastructure, leading to many rural community substance users to struggle with recovery. Consequently, they relapse. Data was collected using a combination of key informant interviews (n=5) and in-depth interviews with 11 youth participants selected using purposive and snowball sampling. This article discusses the significance of a community-based approach as a mechanism to address the problems of providing substance use treatment services in rural communities. The findings stem from a qualitative explanatory phenomenological study conducted in the King Cetshwayo district of northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The findings state that there is a lack of quality services for rural community users. Further, the findings attribute the challenge to a lack of aftercare as post-treatment support, lack of reintegration of users, poor socioeconomic conditions, poly-dependency, and dual addictions as conditions that have led to substance abuse treatment being ineffective for rural community users. This paper concludes that given the failure of current treatment options for rural communities, there is a need to adopt community-based care programmes as mechanisms to improve the delivery of supportive treatment services to rural communities.
Keywords: Community-based approach, Substance use, Service users, Failed abstinence and treatment.
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Socio-economic outcomes of the Zimbabwe Fast-Track Land Reform program in terms of productive efficiency
Goldmarks Makamure 1, Innocent Simphiwe Nojiyeza 2
1 Maurice Webb Race Relations Unit, School of Social Sciences, Howard College, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4001, South Africa.2 Anthropology & Development Studies and Humanities, Univ of Zululand, South Africa.
Volume 16, Issue 12, Pg. 117-126, 2023.
Abstract: Zimbabwe undertook a Fast-Track Land Redistribution Program (FTLRP) from 2000 to 2003 where former peasants were allocated land previously owned by white commercial farmers. The government viewed it as a political necessity that would foster economic growth and stability. There has been mixed views on the success of this program mainly due to the rapid pace of implementation and limited fore planning of the exercise that resulted in several varying outcomes. This study looked at the FTLRP`s socio-economic outcomes based in terms of productive efficiency. Questionnaires were administered to 56 beneficiaries and 56 bureaucrats in the Idhladhla Kippure-lram Resettlement Schemes, located on the outskirts of Masvingo town, Zimbabwe. Socio-economic outcome indicators such as food security, employment and income security were considered. Production efficiency was scored using indicators such as acreage under cultivation and harvest achieved. Eighty percent of the beneficiaries reported general improvement in the overall agricultural productivity efficiency compared to before being resettled and that they could now meet their household food requirements, that of their extended families and they had increased their household incomes. Eight five percent of the beneficiaries felt that they were contributing to national agricultural production and food security. On the other hand, the bureaucrats had a less positive view of the FTRLP. While acknowledging the improved production by the resettled farmers, they had serious concerns about lack of government support in terms of farm mechanization and equipment, which resulted in resettled farmers failing to produce at a commercial level. The bureaucrats felt that institutional support was lacking in terms of health and educational facilities and general government services, which are important for the social wellbeing of the new farmers. The study highlights that the government needs to improve social infrastructure to improve the welfare of the settlers.
Keywords: Economic performance; Land redistribution; Productive efficiency; Socio economic outcome
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Skills development programme for the empowerment of women in rural communities in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: Lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic
Matshemo Joyce Moganedi 1, Nkanyiso Nkazimulo Mkhize 2
1,2 Department of Social Work, University of Zululand, KwaDlangezwa campus, Inkanyiso Building – Office 06, South Africa.
Volume 16, Issue 12, Pg. 127-134, 2023.
Abstract: The outbreak of COVID-19 culminated in both fortunes and misfortunes to humanity at a global scale. South Africa in particular, has been tested to trust an online digital system as one of the strategies for ensuring social distancing. Many job opportunities were lost, and this has negatively impacted on the South African economy in general, and the household in particular. Most men as the heads of households lost their income, an unpleasant socio-economic change that left many families without means to sustain livelihoods. The most affected people who felt the brunt of COVID-19 induced restrictions to human movement were women. Further, women were not only the carers of the sick during COVID-19 and beyond, but they were, and remain child bearers, rearers, nurturers, as well as workers of unacknowledged, unpaid long hours. Among women, anxiety and stress were epic especially during national lockdown and beyond. It exacerbated gender-based violence, a human strive that left the social functioning of many rural families in a dire state in KwaZulu-Natal. This qualitative study seeks to explore the lessons learnt, specifically focusing on the skills development programme for unemployed women in KwaZulu-Natal at the community level. The Human Capital Theory served as the analytical lens in this study. Data collection was done through document analysis. The findings revealed that the COVID-19 exacerbated gender-based violence and accelerated general unemployment. Most women were fourfold victims in this situation (COVID-19, unemployment, unacknowledged long unpaid labourers, and gender-based violence). In terms of the opportunities, women should benefit through the skills development programme.
Keywords: Financial dependency, Self-reliant, Skills development programme, Sustainability, Women empowerment
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The Effectiveness of an Income-Generating Project in a Rural Community
Sanele Sibongiseni Mhlongo 1, John Victor Rautenbach 2
1,2 Department of Social Works, University of Zululand, South Africa.
Volume 16, Issue 12, Pg. 135-148, 2023.
Abstract: The study examined the effectiveness of establishing an income-generating project in local communities within South African municipalities, to reduce unemployment and alleviate household poverty. The study applies income generation to a wide range of activities, including microcredit, skills and vocational training, business training, cash, or food for work (i.e., asset creation) schemes, local economic development initiatives, and small and medium enterprise (SME) development. In the strictest sense, income-generating activities are those that attempt to create financial income. This research looks at the steps which can be taken to address the socioeconomic problems and increase household well-being in the rural areas of South Africa. This qualitative research conducted original interviews with 14 selected participants through semi-structured interviews. The research adopted a purposeful selection method due to the small size of the farm and the number of workers employed on the farm. In addition to four farm workers, two key informants from the South African Department of Agriculture and eight community participants were interviewed. The findings of this study revealed that various income-generating activities require regular government monitoring and assessment to ensure implementation. The study concluded that the government’s existing policies are ineffective in achieving the stated aims of poverty reduction.
Keywords: Rural, income-generating; poverty; development; unemployment
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Sustainable rural development and socio-economic upliftment of marginalised communities in South Africa
Angelo Nicolaides 1, Nkosinathi Emmanuel Dludla 2,
1, 2 Department of Philosophy and Applied Ethics, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences,
University of Zululand, South Africa.
Volume 16, Issue 12, Pg. 149-160, 2023.
Abstract: This conceptual paper looks at current issues faced in rural development and especially unsustainable socio-economic advancement and makes arguments and suggestions to mitigate the impending worsening of the situation, towards the socio-economic upliftment of rural communities. It is critical to reflect and focus on rural communities and people in their everyday lives and how they enjoy their human rights. It is argued that the government and the private sector, and all their stakeholders should actively seek viable solutions to the many complex challenges that rural communities face. Land is a basic livelihood asset, and many people have no land of their own and neither do they have finance to buy land. It is also the case that rural areas are undergoing changes in their structures. In addition, the needs, economic activities, population up-skilling and policies on rural development all require greater urgent consideration. Against this background, some land distribution initiatives for agricultural endeavours are briefly discussed but they cannot be the primary solution to a myriad of rural community challenges. This calls for far more strategic thinking by all involved and multi-sector inputs and strategic partnerships and commitment are essential to support and empower rural people. The formulation of suitable governmental and private sector strategies for rural communities to assume control of their future and also that of subsequent generations of rural dwellers is vital and it has particular resonance in the entire SADC region. The status quo would be too disastrous to contemplate as the rural population increases in Southern Africa. A fully integrated rural development plan is in the making but is not yet significantly improving the output of people and the needed physical resources in rural areas towards sustainability are to an extent still lacking and such issues need to be urgently addressed. To mollify the tensions arising from rural poverty and gross inequality.
Keywords: Rurality; sustainability; private sector; public sector; development; empowerment
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Problematizing rural spaces and positioning in the context of rural development
Nompumelelo Linda 1, Nolwazi Milliscent Mabaleka 2, Joyce Maneli Mdiniso 3
1, 2 Department of Recreation and Tourism, University of Zululand, South Africa.
3 Department of Anthropology and Development Studies, University of Zululand, South Africa.
Volume 16, Issue 12, Pg. 161-168, 2023
Abstract: Stokvels in rural spaces have been widely studied in international scholarship as a medium for rural development. This paper argues that rural spaces offer a plethora of opportunities for investment and social cohesion for the livelihood of members in the self-help groups. Often, researchers focus on the impact and challenges of the enterprise, with little focus on how these groups are developed for the creation of other economic generating opportunities in rural communities. This paper focusses on the various activities that women take part in to provide for their families and to build resilience in four rural communities of Eshowe, using the concept of ukonga which is a Zulu term for savings mobilisation. This paper intends to reflect on the informal self-help activities of poor rural women. A qualitative research approach, comprising of focus group discussions and structured interviews was used as a data collection method for the study. The interviews focused on how these self-help groups organise themselves, what activities they participate in and the roles they assume in their respective communities. The sustainable livelihoods approach and the social capital theory were used to draw perspectives on how these self-groups contribute to providing sustainable economic opportunities for women in rural spaces. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse the data. The findings indicate that government and non-government agencies need to provide training programs towards enhancing women’s empowerment and capabilities.
Keywords: rural development, rural spaces, self-help groups, social capital theory, sustainable livelihoods approach.
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Conceptualizing Ukonga in the context of sustainable livelihoods
Joyce Mnesi Mdiniso 1, Samukelisiwe Fisiwe Nkwanyana 2, Simangele Constance Cele 3
1 Department of Anthropology and Development Studies, University of Zululand, South Africa.
2 Department of Recreation and Tourism, University of Zululand, South Africa.
3 Department of Sociology,University of Zululand, South Africa.
Volume 16, Issue 12, Pg. 169-176, 2023.
Abstract: The concept of Ukonga group meaning self-help group is a community-based self-managed group funded by members who contribute to a pool of savings in regular meetings and offer credit facilities to its members from the savings. For the context of this study, these are women who have voluntarily come forward to build themselves up to improve the social and economic status of the members. The broad objective of the study is to conceptualise the operating system of ukonga groups for mobilization of savings, its performance, and in promoting women’s empowerment in rural communities. Some studies have confirmed the effect of ukonga groups on sustainable livelihoods, food security, and asset ownership, however, women are still not empowered as per the expectation. The empowerment of women through ukonga groups would lead to benefits not only for the individual women but also for the family and community through collective action for development. A qualitative research design was considered appropriate to conduct the research. A semi-structured interview schedule was used as a research tool for data collection. The data was analysed by employing a thematic analysis technique. A significant finding of this study is that this group has enhanced the female participants as they are more economically and socially active and can act on their own compared to women who did not use the savings group.
Keywords: Ukonga groups, sustainable livelihoods, empowerment
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Victim supporters providing psycho-social support services to survivors of gender-based violence in Victim Friendly Rooms
Matshemo Joyce Moganedi 1, Nkuke Evans Mohlatlole 2
1 Department of Social Work, University of Zululand, KwaDlangezwa Campus, Inkanyiso Building – Office 06, South Africa.
2 Department of Social Work, Faculty of Health Sciences, Lifestyle Disease Entity, North-West University, Mmabatho, 2735, South Africa.
Volume 16, Issue 12, Pg. 177-184, 2023
Abstract: Gender-based violence (GBV) has been declared by the President of the Republic of South Africa as the second pandemic and since Covid-19 is now under control and managed, GBV is number one on the list. Despite the human rights emphasis by the South African Constitution, the gruesome killing of women and children continue unabated. In trying to deal with this scourge, the department of Social Development is mandated to provide care and support to the survivors and this service is rendered by professional social workers with the support of social auxiliary workers. Accordingly, any survivor of GBV who enters a victim friendly room (VFR) in Police Station, should be seen by professional social workers for psychosocial support services. These personnel are recognised by the South African Council for Social Service Professions (SACSSP) to provide structured and short-term intervention. Moreover, civil society organisations (CSOs) support survivors in the VFR through victim supporters/ volunteers to contain them as they come to report/ open cases. After the survivors are socially and emotionally contained, they are referred to the social workers for the psychosocial support services going forward. Subsequently, the victim supporters/ volunteers end up providing psychosocial support services to the survivors of GBV in the VFR, which creates role confusion and overlap on their roles. Unfortunately, this creates ethical dilemma and reliance on ill-equipped lay counsellors to manage emotional severity and psychosocial needs presented by the survivors of GBV. Therefore, this study seeks to report on the qualitative desktop research conducted to highlight the eligibility of the provision of psychosocial support services to the survivors of GBV. Empowerment theory underpinned the study. Purposive sampling was used to specifically sample social work-related documents (electronic and printed) for review to gather sufficient data. Data was interpreted through document analysis. Ethically, psychosocial support services must be rendered by professional social workers.
Key words: ethics, psychosocial support services, survivors of GBV, victim supporters
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Ethics and environmental sustainability: A Namibian rural community perspective
Eveline Omagano Anyolo 1, Sakaria Mwashindange Iipinge 2
1 Intermediate and Vocational Education, Faculty of Education and Human Sciences,
University of Namibia, Namibia.
2 Applied Educational Sciences, Faculty of Education and Huma Sciences, University of Namibia, Namibia.
Volume 16, Issue 12, Pg. 185-194, 2023
Abstract: Onanime is one of the remote rural communities in Northern Namibia. Rural communities generally depend on subsistence agriculture for their livelihood within their traditions and customs. Recently, there has been numerous reports in the media that the community of Onanime was experiencing some challenges and unethical conducts on the sustainable use of the environment by various actors within the community. Some of the controversies reported by the media include sand mining, destruction of indigenous trees, historical and cultural sites and landscape. This situation has left people with no grazing area for their animals, forcing them to re-locate their animals for good pastures. Further, this particular situation has divided the community and raised questions related to ethics and moral obligations of humankind toward environmental sustainability. Framed within environmental sustainability and Namibia policy and legal framework, this paper explores the lived experiences of a rural community in the context of ethics and environmental sustainability. The central point is to establish unethical actions and human conducts experienced by the Onanime community in relation to their environment and how they affect the environmental sustainability. A qualitative single case study was employed with individual interviews as a research method to collect data. Documents such as minutes of meetings, letters, newspaper articles and customary law were also analyzed as part of data collection. Purposive and snowballing samplings were used to select both the community and participants. A sample of 10 participants, including the village headman (mwene gwomukunda) were chosen to participate in the study. Data was thematically analyzed. Findings revealed that the use of the environment was associated with environmental sustainability challenges. The findings further revealed that policies were not fully complied with in terms of the sustainable use of the environment. The study recommends the diversification of the agricultural activities for the sustainable livelihood of the community. The study further recommends the inclusion of the community in decision making processes towards the sustainable use of their environment.
Keywords: Ethics; environmental sustainability; livelihood; rural community; unethical behavior; sustainability.
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Desperate times call for desperate measures: Student well-being versus academic integrity during and post the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa
Sarina de Jager 1, Raita Steyn 2
1, 2 Humanities Education, Faculty of Education, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
Volume 16, Issue 12, Pg. 195-206, 2023.
Abstract: Among the challenges caused by COVID-19, the pandemic brought issues of educational inequalities in South Africa, comparable to problems experienced in Europe due to the massification of university studies applied at higher education levels in the ‘70s. The affected well-being of South African university students has evoked concern which, based on empirical evidence, defines them as a ‘very high-risk population’ for mental disorders and psychological distress. The emergency remote learning applied during the pandemic has also caused a drastic surge in academic dishonesty across most universities, manifested mainly in plagiarism. Despite preliminary research on connections between academic dishonesty and students’ well-being, the field is under-researched, with an evident gap in the South African context. This study aims to enhance the South African educational system through awareness of students’ well-being and academic integrity issues related to unpredicted circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. Considering its destructive role, the research has analysed students’ experiences during and after the pandemic from two angles, psychological, in terms of their emotional state of mind, and ethical in terms of their thinking, reacting, and acting in the context of academically dishonest behaviour.
The subject matter has been diachronically approached through the qualitative method applied with the participation of 35 students in three asynchronous phases. To contextualise their mental well-being and involvement in academic dishonesty, the two first phases took place during COVID-19, in the framework of the collective pandemic health crisis. Considering the circumstances to be calmer and the students’ reactions less subjective, the data collection and analysis were realised in beginning 2023. The purposively planned phase-interval, we believe, sustains this study in terms of credibility and accuracy. To raise awareness through empirical knowledge, initially a group of 20 students from the Faculty of Education at a South African urban university participated in a photovoice study. The students were tasked to search for photos during the pandemic, illustrating academic dishonesty and student well-being. From an artistic, pedagogical viewpoint, the phenomenon of plagiarism, beyond textual content, was focused on another group of 15 participant students tasked with creating counterfeit objects. Through their design skills, students were tested on their views on ethics expressed from a satirical and humorous point of view. Conclusively, unpredictable collective disasters causing socio-educational changes can negatively affect a student’s mental health in terms of doubting human value system and disillusionment regarding higher education principles and the consequently increasing academic dishonesty. Positively, students’ well-being was also associated with awareness of one’s inner self, the value of resilience and peer interaction importance in the campus space.
Keywords: Academic dishonesty, Arts-based Methodology, Massification, Photovoice, Plagiarism, Post-COVID-19
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Consumerism as an Ideology, A Critical Theory Perspective
Londiwe Xaba 1, Siphiwe Ndlovu 2
1,2 Department of Philosophy and Applied Ethics, University of Zululand,
1 Vulindlela Drive, KwaDlangezwa, 3886, Republic of South Africa.
Volume 16, Issue 12, Pg. 207-214,2023
Abstract: This paper sets out to understand consumerism as a phenomenon of modern industrial society. Consumerism is here understood as a constitutive element of industrial capitalist economy. It is characterised fundamentally by commodification and the excessive preoccupation of society with the purchase of goods and services, spawned by the creation of unnecessary needs and excessive advertisements. Marketers entice consumers to increasingly purchase such commodities even though the need for such products may not necessarily exist. Thus consumerism can be understood ideologically as a practice in which the producers seek to dominate the consciousness of consumers, to a point where consumers are susceptible to the dominant forces of capital. Ultimately these forces threaten the autonomy of the individual, leading to the erosion of subjective individuality and authentic existence. On this basis, the paper argues that consumerism functions as an objectifying ideology of the capitalist class in bourgeois societies as it threatens and undermines individual autonomy. The paper will make use of Marcuse’s One-Dimensional Man in order to show the distortion of consciousness caused by consumer culture. Further to this, Erich Fromm’s Escape from Freedom will be drawn upon in order to provide the analysis of social conformity and show how politically passive characters are created in capitalist society. The paper will make use of critical theory as a theoretical framework within which to understand the social phenomenology of consumerism.
Keywords: consumerism, capitalism, commodification, ideology, dominate
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